1. Field
The present invention relates to video cameras, and in particular to a smart video conferencing system that controls a video camera based on measures of activity within video data captured using another video camera.
2. Background
Video conferencing has become more popular in recent years, thanks in large part to proliferation of high speed Internet and price reductions in camera equipment. For example, dedicated video conferencing locations exist where rooms and technological resources are dedicated solely to the task of video conferencing. In particularly sophisticated environments that include multiple camera devices, server-side logic may be provided that is capable of dynamically switching between the video feeds of the various cameras when determining which video data to display at a remote video conferencing site. Additionally, many modern instant messaging software applications support voice and video chatting, where the participants can view each other while talking.
Generally, in capturing video data, video cameras are devices that can be configured to capture frames in a sequential manner using an image sensor. Additionally, a number of optimization operations can be performed on the captured frames in order to improve the quality of the video data. For instance, pixel correction operations can be performed on each captured frame, where bad pixel information is used to correct for hot or dead pixels. Additionally, auto focus operations can be performed, where a frame(s) is analyzed to determine whether the lens needs to be adjusted to achieve a more optimal focus. Upon determining that a lens adjustment is necessary, a feedback signal could be sent to motors or actuators to adjust the focal position of the lens. Additionally, color processing operations can be performed, where the frames are analyzed to determine if any color corrections are necessary. Such color corrections could include, for example, gamma correction, white balance correction and exposure correction.
Once any optimizations have been performed for the video data, the optimized video data can be encoded into a suitable format. Generally, the encoding format used can depend on the available network bandwidth and the application in question. For example, a dedicated video conference environment with a high bandwidth network connection could encode captured video data at a relatively high bit rate, while a video conference application on a mobile phone or tablet with a more limited network connection could encode the captured video data at a lower bit rate. The encoded video data can then be transmitted to the remote site for display via a communications network (e.g., the Internet).
While video conferencing technology is rapidly improving, it remains challenging to provided sophisticated video conferencing systems at relatively inexpensive prices. That is, while certain dedicated video conferencing environments provide many sophisticated features such as dynamically switching the displayed video stream between various captured video streams, such functionality currently comes at a substantial cost, in large part because such sophisticated setups require substantial computer hardware (e.g., multiple camera devices for capturing multiple different video feeds of the dedicated video conferencing environment, substantial network resources for transmitting multiple high-resolution video streams simultaneously, and server-side logic to select between the multiple different video feeds to determine what stream to display at the remote video conferencing site). As such, these sophisticated systems remain very expensive and priced beyond the practical reach of the average user.
Therefore, there is a need for a video conferencing system and method of using the same that solves the problems described above.